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The. Swallow-flight Series 



THE FLAG STILL THERE. 




The "Western Literary Press, Cincinnati, O. 






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rUBHAi^YafCOMGRESSJ 

AUG 81 190/ 

Gooyngrht BMry 



CUSS XXCi No. 



Copyright 1906 by John James Piatt. 



Printed by W. E. Taylor, 

HARRISON, OHIO. 



DEDICATED 

TO 

THE VANISHING ARMY 

OF 

''MORGAN'S MEN." 




THE FLAG STILL THERE. 



AN ANTIPODEAN SURVIVAL OF "THE LOST 
CAUSE." 

^HE four vears of our Civil 
War, with its kaleidoscopic 
changes, wrought singTilar 
effects upon the young men 
of those days. One of the results of 
their service in the army, especially 
in the cavalry, was to create a spirit 
of unrest in many of the boys of 
'61-65, and this effect was produced 
in a marked degree upon my old 
friend and comrade. Captain Martin 
Schuyler, of company C, Seventh 
Ohio Cavalry, who, in the many 
years since the disbanding of the 
armies of Grant and Lee, has circled 
the globe three times — and there is 
scarcely a habitable region on the 
7 



THE FLAG STILL THERE 

face of the earth that has not felt 
the imprint of his foot. I never 
know when to expect a visit from 
Captain Schuyler; but at long inter- 
vals my office door flies open with a 
bang, and the cheery, hearty voice 
of Schuyler is heard as he grasps me 
with both hands and says, ''Here I 
am again." The Captain is now 
about fifty-nine years of age, and 
has such a large repertoire of stories 
of adventure that an hour's visit 
from him gives one three months' 
enjoyment. He wears a deep sabre- 
scar across his face, this being the 
mark of one of his adventures in 
the cavalry service. In response to 
an inquiry as to how large a scar 
the other fellow wears, the Captain 
laughingly says, ''Oh, well, it's about 
as large as the one he gave me." 
He also has a perceptible limp from 
a bullet-wound in the right leg, re- 
ceived from one of Forrest's cavalry- 
8 



THE FLAG STILL THERE 

men, while resisting the advance of 
Hood's Army on Frankhn, Tennes- 
see, November 30th, 1864. 

It had been nearly three years 
since I had a visit from my old 
comrade, when recently, while 
traveling from Norfolk, Virginia en 
route to New York City, on board 
one of the steamers of the old Do- 
minion Line, the first to greet me 
was Captain Schuyler. Having a 
twenty-four hours' run between 
Norfolk and New York, we had 
ample time for recalling events of 
the past. In reply to my inquiry as 
to what he had been doing since I 
saw him last, the Captain told me 
he had but recently returned from 
the Philippines, where he had served 
as an officer in one of the Volunteer 
regiments, — the Thirty-ninth, if I re- 
member correctly,— and, in this con- 
nection, he told me an exceedingly 
interesting story, which I will under- 
9 



THE FLAG STILL THERE 

take to relate, using his own lan- 
guage as nearly as possible. 

^'At the expiration of our term of 
service in the Philippines," said the 
Captain, "I decided to return to the 
United States at my leisure, and 
visited many interesting points on 
the way, my tour taking in some 
fields hitherto unknown to me, and 
altogether outside the usual line of 
travel." 

"I was in no hurry; and as you 
know I have visited nearly every 
habitable region of the earth, I had 
some difficulty in finding new fields; 
but as I had never made an extend- 
ed tour of the Navigator Islands in 
the South Pacific Ocean, I concluded 
to visit that region. I spent several 
months in that interesting part of 
the world, and while there a singu- 
lar episode occurred which carried 
me back to the far distant past, — to 
the time our blessed old Seventh 
10 



THE FLAG STILL THERE 

Ohio Cavalry was having jousts 
with 'Morgan's Men/ when w^e tilted 
with both Duke and Cluke, Pegram 
and others of the Blue Grass 'Critter 
Companies/ during the Immortal 
Sixties.' I was spending a few days 
on one of the Islands, the sea in front 
of me being dotted with sailing 
craft, manned by the natives, who 
are superb navigators and great 
fishermen. It is the custom among 
these people to fly a flag on each 
boat. There are all sorts of flags, 
as each native feels it incumbent on 
him to fly his own colors, and many 
of these are grotesque and not in the 
least attractive. One evening, while 
wandering along the beach, I ob- 
served a flsherman standing in to- 
wards the shore, who carried on the 
mast of his boat a flag quite differ- 
ent from anything I had ever seen 
in that part of the world, and upon 
inspecting the same with my field 
11 



THE FLAG STILL THERE 

glass, it looked like one of the old 
Confederate flags. I kept my glass 
on this fisherman as he stood in to- 
wards the shore and made for the 
point of his landing. Upon his com- 
ing ashore, I asked permission to 
examine his flag, which request was 
readily granted, and, sure enough, I 
found it to be an old Confederate 
flag. I asked this half-naked fisher- 
man where he got the flag, but he 
was not inclined to give me any in- 
formation. Later I undertook to 
purchase the flag, and asked him 
v/hat price he would take for the 
same; but he was not disposed to 
sell, and, in fact, seemed inclined to 
avoid me, and get away from me 
without imparting any information. 
I therefore adopted another course, 
seeking to win his favor, and pre- 
sented him tobacco and inexpensive 
trinkets, such as might please an 
aborigine, whereupon he seemed to 
12 



THE FLAG STILL THERE 

open up a little bit, and invited me 
to visit him at his home on one of 
the neighboring islands, something 
like thirty miles away. I accepted 
this invitation, accompanying him to 
his home, a fisherman's hut, on an 
island about five miles long and 
three miles wide, where, after much 
persuasion, he told me the story of 
the Confederate flag which had been 
flying at the mast of his boat. He 
stated that many, many years ago 
there had come to him a man, an 
American, who was not a sailor, but 
said he had been a soldier, and the 
principles for which he had fought 
had become a ^Lost Cause.' There- 
upon he had left his native land, 
bringing the flag with him, this be- 
ing almost his only possession. For 
many, many years the soldier had 
lived on this little island in the 
Pacific Ocean, where, in fair weather, 
he had kept the flag flying in front 
13 



THE FLAG STILL THERE 

of his little house; but about three 
years ago this old soldier had died, 
leaving his few effects to the native 
fisherman. I asked the fisherman 
for permission to inspect the things 
left by this old soldier, and after 
much urging this permission v/as 
granted. I found among his time- 
worn papers a few scraps, these be- 
ing portions of an old diary, which 
may lead to his identification. 
These scraps have apparently been 
wet by sea-water, and are mouldy 
and difficult to decipher, but, as near 
as I can make out, the man's name 
w^as Henry Clay Renfrew, and he 
was a member of either the Second 
Kentucky Cavalry or the Fourth 
Kentucky Cavaly, or possibly he 
may have been a member of both 
these regiments at different times, 
as one portion of his diary refers to 
Colonel Basil Duke having been the 
Colonel of his regiment, and of his 
14 



THE FLAG STILL TIL ERE 

belonging to the company com- 
manded b/ Captain John B. Castle- 
man; and in another part of his 
diary he refers to Colonel Henry 
Giltner as having been Colonel of 
his regiment, and Captain Bart 
Jenkins as commander of his com- 
pany. There was also found a pic- 
ture (an ambrotype) of a little girl 
about five years old, marked in faded 
letters, 'Lela Giltner, the Daughter 
of the Regiment.' This may have 
been the Colonel's daughter. His 
home is mentioned as having been 
near Midway, Kentucky. Turning 
over the mouldy leaves of his diary 
I found mention of Captain E. 0. 
Guerrant as having been Adjutant- 
General of his brigade, and the 
name of Lieutenant T. M. Freeman 
as having been adjutant of the reg- 
iment. I infer from this that Ren- 
frew may have been a soldier de- 
tailed at brigade or regimental head- 
15 



THE FLAG STILL THERE 

quarters, serving with either the 
adjutant general of the brigade or 
the adjutant of the regiment. He 
also speaks of Brainard Bayless and 
Dallas Mosgrove as chums and mess- 
mates. In one part of his diary he 
refers at great length to the last 
days of the Confederacy, and his 
last hours' service in the army, and 
tells of the march, ragged, hungry 
and weary, through South Carolina 
into Georgia as far as the town of 
Woodstock; and also states that the 
brigade is commanded by General 
Duke, and refers to the fact that it 
was the last body of organized Con- 
federate soldiers escorting Jefferson 
Davis and his party through South 
Carolina into Georgia. He says that 
Duke's Cavalry followed the flag to 
the last hour of the last day of the 
Confederacy. 

"At this point in his diary the 
soldier refers to the fact that, Gen- 
16 



THE FLAG STILL THERE 

eral Duke having at last decided to 
accept the terms of surrender, he 
(the writer) took from the flag-staff 
the colors they had been carrying, 
and concealed them by wrapping 
them about his body under his cloth- 
ing, with the intention of leaving 
the country for foreign lands. Fur- 
ther along in his diary I find men- 
tion of the fact that this soldier is 
in Mexico. Then I find from the 
diary that he had drifted down along 
the west coast of South America, 
spending some time along that coast. 
His diary does not give the date of 
his arrival at the Navigator Islands, 
but, from the testimony of the na- 
tive who had possession of his ef- 
fects, it must have been twenty-five 
or thirty years ago that our ex-Con- 
federate soldier decided to make his 
permanent home among these far- 
away islands of the sea in the South 
Pacific Ocean. 

17 



THE FLAG STILL THERE 

^The native who had possession of 
his effects dechned absolutely to al- 
low anything to be taken away, tell- 
ing me that the old soldier and him- 
self had been great friends for 
many, m.any years, and upon the sol- 
dier's death-bed he had given a 
promise never to part with any of 
the mementoes left by him. There- 
fore I was not able to bring back the 
Confederate flag, which for more 
than twenty-five years had been fly- 
ing over this little 'Island Empire' of 
the sea. But the information I bring 
may lead to the identification of 
this man, who, for more than a third 
of a century, had never seen home 
or kindred, and who voluntarily ex- 
patriated himself when the cause for 
which he fought became 'The Lost 
Cause.' " 

Continuing the narrative, Captain 
Schuyler told me of having visited 
the grave of the ex-Confederate, this 
18 



777^ FLAG STILL TflERE 

grave being situated upon a rocky 
headland of the island, overlooking 
the sea. The body lies with the feet 
to the east, and the grave is marked 
with substantial stones at both the 
head and at the foot. The grave is 
kept in most excellent order by the 
simple native fisherman, who for 
many years had been the friend of 
the old soldier who rests there, with 
his "Old Kentucky Hom.e Far Away." 
Captain Schuyler said that he vis- 
ited this grave with the intention of 
erecting thereon some marking 
stone, but that with infinite care the 
simple native fisherman had done all 
that the most loving hand could do, 
and this lonely grave, thousands of 
miles away from the ''Blue Grass 
State," on a little rock-bound island 
in mid ocean, is cared for with lov- 
ing attention, and our ex-Confeder- 
ate soldier sleeps peacefully, "where 
the sun woos out the day." 
19 



APPENDIX. 




OL. ALLEN'S little semi-historical 
episode, originally published in **The 
Indicator: a Hesperian Leaflet," 
in 1901, attracted much attention 
throughout the United States, particularly in 
the Southern States, as indicated in the fol- 
lowing, from the New York Sun of Septem- 
ber 15, 1901: 

RENFREW AND HIS FLAG. 



THE CONFEDERATE SOLDIER WHO TOOK THE 
STARS AND BARS TO A SOUTH- 
SEA ISLAND. 

[From the Louisville Courier-Journal,] 

''During the past few weeks General Basil 
Duke and General John B. Castleman have 
been overwhelmed with letters from old Con- 
federate soldiers, asking them what they 
knew of the story of Henry Clay Renfrew, 
an ex-Confederate who carried away the last 
flag of the Confederacy, and escaped with it 
to the Navigator Islands. Renfrew was sup- 
posed to have been a member of the Second 
21 



THE FLAG STILL THERE 

Kentucky Cavalry under General Duke. A 
reporter called on General Duke to learn the 
facts in the case. 

'' 'No,' said the General, 'Renfrew's name 
has slipped my memory. I thoroughly believe 
the truth of the story. The fact that his 
diary shows him to have been in both the 
Second and the Fourth Kentucky Cavalry is 
a point that goes far toward establishing the 
authenticity of the tale. If it were simply a 
cooked-up yarn the author would never have 
thought to put him in two regiments. 

" 'The matter of which flag he took must 
be a bit uncertain. You know, we old Con- 
federates were so busy that we could not 
worry much about flags. I don't think I had 
a brigade flag. Renfrew probably got his 
company flag, as most companies had some 
emblem or pennon. 

** 'I have talked to several of my men and 
they say they remember Renfrew perfectly. 
He came from somewhere near Midway. 
From what they tell me, he was a gallant 
soldier. ' 

"The reporter then hunted up one of the 
men, who was a private under General Duke. 

"'Renfrew?' exclaimed the old soldier. 'Of 
course I remember Renfrew. He was one of 
the finest fellows in the army. When I knew 
him he was about twenty-three years old and 
in Bart Jenkins' Brigade. Renfrew, Bayless 

22 



THE FLAG STILL THERE 

and Mosgrove were mess-mates. They were 
all college graduates and naturally drifted to- 
gether in the company. They messed to- 
gether all the time. Every one of them was 
a brave soldier. Bayless now lives in Cin- 
cinnati. I know that Renfrew was in that 
last march as one of President Jefferson 
Davis' escort. Most of that last command 
surrendered at Mount Sterling. Some of 
them, however, tried to work west to join 
Kirby Smith. The command split and I lost 
sight of Renfrew. Bayless, of Cincinnati, 
could tell all about him. ' 

**The story is to the effect that out in the far 
Navigator Isles floats an old Confederate flag 
that has never been surrendered. And now, 
all over the country, old soldiers are rousing 
themselves and overwhelming General Duke 
with inquiries concerning the story of the 
young Kentuckian who bravely bore that flag, 
then willingly expatriated himself rather than 
surrender it. Four years he followed it, and 
then, for twenty-five more, it floated proudly 
unsurrendered before his hut on a little Pa- 
cific Island. 

"Now private Henry Clay Renfrew, C. S. 
A., lies buried in a rocky headland of that 
far isle. He lies so, that, rising his face 
would look toward the East, toward the land 
of his youth and his love. And over the 
grave of the dead soldier floats the tattered 
23 

LOfC. 



THE FLAG STILL THERE 

battle-flag; the Stars and Bars for which he 
gave up home and friends and all that made 
life tolerable. The native who befriended 
him takes care of the grave. 

''Captain Martin Schuyler, formerly Cap- 
tain in the Seventh Ohio Cavalry, brought 
back the story from the Philippines. He told 
it to Colonel T. F. Allen, also of the Seventh 
Ohio Cavalry. Captain Schuyler met the 
native and from him learned the story of the 
flag. The native told him that many years 
ago an American, who said he had drifted 
along the western coast of South America, 
after passing through Mexico, settled in the 
Navigator Islands and lived alone, flying be- 
fore his hut the Confederate battle-flag, 
which he said was carried by the cavalry es- 
cort that travelled with Jefferson Davis in 
the last stages of his flight from Richmond 
before his capture by the Federals. The ex- 
soldier said that he had escaped with the flag, 
which he loved too well to permit him to live 
again under the United States flag. The 
American refugee lived his isolated life for 
years, dying three years ago and leaving his 
flag to his native friend, with the injunction 
that he never part with it. 

"Captain Schuyler finally got the native's 
permission to examine the dead American's 
effects. He found papers and diaries indicat- 
ing that the ex-Confederate was Henry Clay 
24 



THE FLAG STILL THERE 

Renfrew, a member of either the Second or 
Fourth Kentucky Cavalry, or both, in the 
Confederate Army. In some places he re- 
ferred to Colonel Basil Duke, as the Colonel, 
and Captain John B. Castleman as his Caj)- 
tain; in others to Colonel Henry Giltner and 
Captain Bart Jenkins as his Colonel and Cap- 
tain respectively. He wrote of Brainard 
Bayless and Dallas Mosgrove as his chums. 
In one of the diaries Renfrew referred at 
length to the last days of the Confederacy. 
Then followed the statement that he was 
with the last body of organized Confederate 
soldiers that escorted Jefferson Davis, Gene- 
ral Duke commanding. And that when Duke's 
surrender was agreed upon, the writer took 
the flag from the staff, concealed it about 
his body and escaped, with the intention of 
taking the flag to some foreign land. ' ' 



In his charming book entitled ''The Little 
Shepherd of Kingdom Come," published since 
the above, Mr. John Fox, jr., the distin- 
guished Kentucky author, having Col. Allen's 
episode of "The Flag Still There" in mind, 
makes frequent mention of "Renfrew the 
Silent, ' ' and in one of the concluding chap- 
ters refers to the self-exiled Confederate 

25 



THE FLAG STILL THERE 

soldier and his Unconquered Banner as fol- 
lows: 

''Renfrew the Silent was waiting at the 
smouldering fire. He neither looked up nor 
made any comment when General Hunt spoke 
his determination to surrender. His own face 
grew more sullen and he reached his hand 
into his breast and pulled from his faded 
jacket the tattered colors that he once had 
borne. 

" 'These will never be lowered as long as 
I live, ' he said, 'nor afterward if I can pre- 
vent it. ' And lowered they never were. On 
a little island in the Pacific Ocean, this strange 
soldier, after leaving his property and his 
kindred forever, lived out his life among the 
natives with this blood-stained remnant of 
the Stars and Bars over his hut, and when he 
died the flag was hung over his grave, and 
above that grave to-day the tattered emblem 
still sways in Southern air. ' ' 



26 



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